Purdue Fantasy Club

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====== Strygarii ======
These creatures take the forms of massive birds crackling with elemental power, and have never been seen within known Cahyali. Strygarii are colloquially referred to by their elemental natures; for example, a Strygarus attuned to lightning is more commonly called a thunderbird, and one attuned to fire is a firebird or phoenix. These can be misnomers, however, as Strygarii are not to be confused with avian elementals of similar appearances. They are far larger, and, if the legends are to be believed, far more destructive.

===== History =====
For the longest time not much was known about these [[lore:creatures:greatbeasts|Great Beasts,]] other than what came from dwarvish and human legends which speak of a great war known as the Stormwing Calamity. This war, fought between Strygarii and dragons in a time before mortal civilization really existed, left long scars on the world and drove dwarves and humans to migrate to the Cahyali known today.

However, recent research into [[lore:races:avians:tzeporem|Tzeporem]] culture, the native avian races of Cahyali, has allowed scholars to piece together more of these beasts history. These legends speak of these greats winged beasts who were shaped by primordial elemental energy long ago before civilization was even a thought. Over time descendants of these creatures came about, elemental birds such as the thunderbird and the phoenix. 

The story then follows that over time the Strygarii simply couldn't maintain their existence on Cahyali, though the exact reason why is unknown, what is known is that they all disappeared. Millenia passed, and the dragosn came to rule the planet. This is where a proper legend begins.

The story goes that the birds of the Grand Murmuration were running out of food in the islands they had made their home, so they flew north to find more food. Here they came across these beings called the Kirin, horse-like creatures who could walk on air and brought rain to farms. The elemental birds, hungry and weary hunted the Kirin to extinction unaware of the curse this would bring upon them. This curse caused the bodies of the Grand Murmuration to swell and change becomes gigantic beasts with a grand hunger. This was the reemergence of the Strygarii.

Driven wild by hunger these beasts tore up the land, driving countless from their homes. As they tried to sate their need for food, one had they idea to consume a dragon, believing that it could soothe them. This was what would come to be known as [[history:cahyali#the_stormwing_calamity|The Stormwing Calamity.]]

The war eventually ended and the Strygarii rested in the new dominion, their hunger sated. From here the accounts of the story tend to differ from culture to culture but the basic premise is that some Strygarri, fearing another war fled to other planes, some to the [[settings:planes:Elemental Planes]] and some to the [[settings:planes:kurago|Kurago]], and some stayed in Cahyali, beyond the borders of Esrior's Fold. 

==== Known Strygarii ====
Tzeporem legends describe a type of Strygarii related to each of the birds in the Grand Murmuration. It is unknown whether more exist, but at minimum these 9 do. To avoid confusion the following section will refer to the Strygarii in the format of [Nature of their magic] Strygarii: [Elemental counterpart]. The section after then describes the known Strugarii on the outer continents.


=== Strength Strygarii: Ashet ===
//Icaba, The Ground Breaker//

Roaming the Khaiguul Steppes and Ala’Ura Plains of Akhior, Icaba is known for its violent temper, and aggressive movements. Icaba is known for the way to slam into the ground, leveling entire areas. Icaba’s plumage is large and almost entirely black, the feathers running across a strong muscular body. Their beak has a strong downward hook that can cleave the land apart and spear into other creatures that work in conjunction with their talons that have been known to squeeze the life out of an elephant.

=== Life Strygarii: Dahm ===
//Moldan, The Waking Guardian//

Flying over the southern lands of Nidaior, Moldan serves as a guardian for landmass, as anyone who comes into the area will soon see the sky rain blood as they find themselves beset by diseases, the likes of which their immune system has never had to combat. Moldan themselves looks almost like a large puffy cloud moving over the land. While at heart they are one of the more kind Strygarii, they remember the devastation of the Stormwing Calamity all too well and as a result, they refuse to let outsiders onto the continent from the south. Moldan seems to be immune to any sort of disease. 


=== Light Strygarii: Eroka ===
//Itlys, The Walking Sun//

Striding across the middle section of Nidaior, Itlys, stands as a 2000 foot tall heron, its feather’s shed, composed of many colors, combining to emit a powerful white light across the planes. No one is able to look at Itlys directly without going blind. That being said, it's common for people to take the feathers that have fallen off of its body and use them as a light source in their homes.

=== Earth Strygarii: Firewalker ===
//Ọkụntu, The Shepherd//

Hunting in the northern isles of Akhior, the Firewalker has a body similar to that of a water rail, though with much longer legs like a heron or a crane, capable of wading through the colored waters of northern Akhior. Ọkụntu’s body is a rustic red, with wings that fade more into a metallic black. Its beak is also made of metal. Ọkụntu hunts by starting fires on the land to force the creatures into the water where they become easier to hunt. It’s also capable of starting fires on the water, often causing animals to burn or drown. 

=== Death Strygarii: Holeh ===
//Kitala, The Patient//

Perching upon the Igwetiti Isles, Kitala is perhaps one of the most terrifying of the Strygarii as living beings around Kitala are known to suddenly drop dead. There are no warning signs, one second an animal is standing and then it collapses, its heart stopped. Oftentimes this happens in droves, making cities difficult to establish in this area. The body of Kitala themself looks compact, similar to that of an owl, they tend to keep their wings close to them as they perch, their eyes watching the land below them. 


=== Fire Strygarii: Phoenix ===
//Ohtun, The Sleeping Eruption//

The bird of fire sleeping in Mount Logi, while sleeping it’s body could easily be mistaken for a piece of charcoal, a dark grey body curled in on itself. But don’t mistake its sleeping body as a vulnerability, for trying to strike it in this state is like trying to crack a diamond. The waking of Ohtun is a continental event as the volcano starts to rumble, anyone foolish enough to look into it would see veins of lava carve into Ohtun’s body before it spontaneously combusts, the body wreathed in flame as it soars into the sky. 


=== Water Strygarii: Pitterpa ===
//Voldsom: The Downpour//

Taking the form of a massive hummingbird, Voldsom hovers around the northern points of Nidaior, specifically the Pillars of the Sky. Voldsome has feathers from dark blues and purples to vibrant greens, colors that reflect off the rain they cause. To hunt, they will start a torrential downpour of rain, the fast moving waters running down the mountainsides and washing any creatures unfortunate enough to be outside to be swept up and carried to the base of the mountains where Voldsom feeds. Once someone is caught up, it’s nearly impossible to get out. Some reports say that the rain is so heavy that getting hit by a single drop will knock someone down, and others report that the quick vibrations of Voldsom’s wings cause disturbances in the water, leading to tidal waves on land. 


=== Music Strygarii: Struma ===
//Ennan, The Composition//

Roaming the Eastern Greatwood, Ennan is a somewhat calmer Strygarii, partially owing to the fact that instead of a single entity it’s a swarm of smaller birds. The birds that make up Ennan look similar to a lyrebird, though their tails, rather than looking like a lyre, looks more like an adungu with a line of large tail feathers that curl upwards near the bottom and many smaller transparent tailfeathers above the large one. It’s well known that Ennan’s music has an effect on the environment, though the exact effects are seemingly random.


=== Air Strygarii: Thunderbird ===
//Qoa, The Shadow//

Flying across the sea, Qoa is the most enigmatic of the Strygarii, never landing and never staying in one place for very long, people are not sure how Qoa feeds itself. All accounts of Qoa are largely the same, a large silhouette of a bird in the sky, with spiky feathers at the ends of its wings, and talons large enough to carve the land in two. Qoa, will fly over an area, bringing thunderstorms with increased amounts of lightning in its wake. It will fly under the sun, turning the day into night. Sometimes it will circle an area, causing constant bouts of darkness, before eventually leaving. No one has managed to converse with Qoa in many years. Additionally, there are rumors of a city of avians who live on Qoa’s back, but no one has been able to confirm this as anyone who dares to approach the Strygarii gets struck down by lightning.